Chapter 44: Engulfment

An archaic black oil painting floated within a dim, murky dreamscape. Inside the painting, the doll-like girl, sealed within the canvas, was filled with confusion regarding her current situation.

"This shouldn't be happening! I've broken free from that thing's control, and I even have a body in the real world!" Irene paced in circles within the painting. "I could accept having to carry this painting around while 'outside'—just treat it like extra luggage—but why is the situation even worse in the dream world? Theoretically, shouldn't I be more free once I enter a dream?"

She lifted her head and stared straight at Yu Sheng.

"If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask? I also think you should be freer after entering a dream," Yu Sheng said, spreading his hands. "I was hoping to see what you looked like at 1.67 meters, but you're still just a paper person."

Irene appeared extremely irritated, losing all interest in bickering with Yu Sheng. After circling the chair within the painting countless times, she finally resigned herself to fate and sat back down. She reached out, grabbed the fluffy teddy bear, and gave it a vigorous, frustrated squeeze.

"Now I'm locked up with this guy again... but, I guess it's fine. At least I truly have the ability to move freely in the real world. The dream world isn't that important. Yeah, not that important."

"...Sometimes I really envy your optimism," Yu Sheng remarked with genuine emotion.

Irene immediately bared her teeth at him, but whether in reality or in dreams, her toothy threats never possessed any real intimidation.

Yu Sheng stepped around the floating oil painting and approached the sleeping silver fox.

"What's next? Same as last time? I lie on her tail, and then we both 'sink' down together?"

"Same as last time, but this time, the connection will be more 'direct.' I'll find a way to keep Hu Li's consciousness in a near-awake state, making it easier for you to communicate with her and perceive her surroundings," Irene said, floating to Yu Sheng's side. "But at the same time, 'Hunger' will notice you. It will come looking for you... After that, I won't be able to help you. The contact and struggle at the level of consciousness will be entirely up to you."

At this, she paused, seemingly adding a note to reassure him: "However, I can act as the final safeguard. Once I sense your mental state becoming critically unstable, I will forcibly 'drag' you out. It will be as painful as that violent awakening last time, so you'd better be mentally prepared."

"...To be honest, I really don't want to go through that again," Yu Sheng sighed, but he quickly nodded, his previous resolve unshaken. "Alright, let's begin."

He found a stable indentation between Hu Li's massive tails once more, then caught Irene as she jumped down from mid-air. One person and one painting, leaning against the fox tail, they sank once more into this heavy, drowsy dream.

Perhaps because of the foundation laid by their previous connection, this second descent was swifter and smoother than Yu Sheng had imagined. He felt only a momentary blur in his vision; by the time his perspective stabilized, he was already looking at the demon fox girl.

She was crouching quietly amidst a field of rubble, staring blankly at something ahead.

Yu Sheng's perspective shifted behind Hu Li, following her line of sight—

He saw a massive wreck, looking like the crash site of some gargantuan aircraft. Between the twisted metal skeleton and the fractured decks, one could still discern its former grandeur. A faint radiance, like an undying spiritual breath, drifted slowly through the shattered remains.

The entire wreck had fallen at the foot of a mountain; the molten rock caused by the collapse had nearly swallowed it, fusing it into the mountain itself. Even a single glance revealed how staggering the impact must have been.

If the passengers had been ordinary humans, there might not have been any survivors at all.

Yu Sheng stared at the crash site in shock, but he did not forget his original purpose. He approached the demon fox girl and spoke softly to avoid startling her: "Hu Li."

The ears atop Hu Li's head instantly twitched upright. She bolted upright and scanned her surroundings, seemingly trying to locate the source of the voice. After failing to find it, she responded hesitantly, "...Benefactor?"

"It's me. Don't look around; I am communicating directly with your consciousness."

"Benefactor! You really are here! I thought I had misheard last time... Benefactor? What is... what is happening?" A look of joy appeared on Hu Li's face, though she still instinctively searched the area with her eyes. "I... I was spacing out in the valley, but suddenly, I was here. Am I... dreaming? Is this a dream?"

"Yes. I... used some methods to forcibly guide your dream. This is the only way I can contact you—but now is not the time to explain the details," Yu Sheng said quickly. "Listen, Hu Li, I am going to save you. To do that, I need to open a special door, and I need your cooperation—do you trust me?"

"Come... save me?" Hu Li froze, then suddenly reacted, shaking her head vigorously. "Don't, don't come! Benefactor, you worked so hard to get out. This valley is very strange; once you enter, it's hard to escape! You, don't come! Please, don't..."

Yu Sheng interrupted the panicked girl: "I have a way! Hu Li, listen, I have a way. I've already found a method to stabilize entry and exit to that valley. Now I just need you to help me open that door. Don't worry about the monster; I can handle it—understand? I'm very capable, and this time I've even found a helper who is also... well, very capable."

Yu Sheng tried to soothe Hu Li, working hard to put her mind at ease, but a trace of confusion appeared on her face. Her thinking was slow, as if it took great effort to keep up with his words. After a long while, unsure of how much she had understood, she asked doubtfully, "So... is Benefactor also an immortal?"

Yu Sheng had no idea how Hu Li's train of thought had jumped to that conclusion.

But he could be.

"A very capable immortal," he said, trying to make his voice sound as reliable as possible.

The demon fox girl then smiled.

"Benefactor, what should I do?"

"You don't need to do anything. Just focus on perceiving your surroundings. You will feel someone peering into your heart, and even feel someone looking at the world through your eyes—do not resist. That is me."

"Mm, okay."

Yu Sheng felt a slight sense of relief in his heart. Negotiating with Hu Li was easier than expected. Now then... he only had to face the second problem.

"Irene," he called softly in his mind, "begin."

In the next second, accompanied by a slight sense of vertigo, Yu Sheng felt an indescribable... pull.

A brand-new "connection" emerged, established between him and Hu Li. Unlike the obscure link previously forged through blood, he could clearly feel that this new connection was sturdier and... more violent.

A portion of his consciousness broke free from his control and was merged into a series of entirely new perceptions. It was as if his nerves had suddenly connected to a whole set of extra limbs. Although the sensations transmitted were somewhat blurred and delayed, he still... began to perceive the atmosphere around Hu Li.

Cold, decaying, carrying the stench of all things in decline. The wind surged through the valley, blowing through the dark forests.

The night was eternal; Hunger was everlasting.

The demon fox girl stood in the forest, her eyes wide as she struggled to look around.

She didn't actually understand what her Benefactor was doing, nor did she know if staring wide-eyed at her surroundings was the right way to do it; she was simply trying to complete what Yu Sheng had instructed according to her own understanding.

Then, she felt the "connection" the Benefactor had mentioned.

It gave her a start, but she felt no malice.

Hu Li had always been able to keenly sense even the slightest hint of malice, but this time, nothing malicious came through.

She only felt a slight sense of peace, and even... her stomach didn't seem quite as hungry anymore.

...

The moment that mountain-toppling hunger and the tide of madness suppressed deep within that hunger surged toward him, Yu Sheng felt as if a colossal wave had crashed directly onto his head—like a mountain collapsing in the pitch-black night. Hunger and frenzy were as tangible as substance, as massive as shadows, as solid as frozen darkness, nearly drowning every inch of his perception in an instant.

Yu Sheng didn't even have time to call Irene's name; in that critical moment, he only struggled to memorize the "characteristics" of the valley transmitted from Hu Li, before being completely submerged by this frantic black tide.

However, deep within the black tide, he found that he remained conscious.

Hunger gnawed at his soul, and his soul withered and died. In the dark surge, Yu Sheng watched "himself" being swallowed in the blink of an eye, his perspective acting like that of a detached bystander.

As the hunger receded, the withered, dead soul woke once more. Yu Sheng opened his eyes in the darkness, momentarily unsure if he had experienced another "death" or if it had merely been an illusion of being swallowed for a split second.

He wandered in the depths of the darkness, unable to feel the passage of time or the end of space, uncertain even if he was truly moving.

He could only feel... a gaze constantly fixed upon him.

It wasn't just a single gaze; the entire expanse of this dark chaos was part of that gaze.

He was like a grain of dust, so tiny it was no larger than the tip of a needle, being watched and submerged by an infinite, hungry gaze.

Then, after an unknown amount of time, he finally caught a glimpse of something in the depths of that darkness... floating, massive limbs, or perhaps shadows.

(End of Chapter)